Verizon and AT&T continue slap fight over “Map for That” ads

Verizon and AT&T are playing out their 3G coverage spat in court, with Verizon asserting that "the truth hurts" when it comes to AT&T's 3G coverage. Verizon's statement is just the latest in the legal battle that started earlier this month when AT&T filed a lawsuit over Verizon's "There's a Map for That" ad campaign—the gloves are off, and it's clear that both companies are willing to go to great lengths to push their own marketing agendas.

If these two companies were five-year-olds, AT&T would be screaming "VERIZON STARTED IT!" The network began running ads in October—meant to directly target Apple's and AT&T's "There's an App for That" ads—that showed a Verizon coverage map next to AT&T's. Verizon's map showed significantly more 3G coverage, and the ad stated "There's a Map for That" with the implication that AT&T's devices are no good if you can't get any coverage out in the middle of Podunk City, Iowa. The ads even stated flat out that AT&T's customers were "out of touch" where 3G coverage wasn't available. Oh snap, Verizon!

AT&T was understandably miffed. The problem was that Verizon was specifically showing 3G coverage on its maps, and not overall (2.5G/EDGE) coverage from both networks. Because Verizon's entire network is 3G while most of AT&T's is 2G (with 3G currently expanding its reach throughout the US), of course Verizon's 3G coverage map looks impressive compared to AT&T's. AT&T sent a nastygram to Verizon asking it to stop running the ads; in response, Verizon removed the words "out of touch" and added a note in microscopic print at the end of the ad that said "Voice & data services available outside 3G coverage areas."

The company could not have possibly expected AT&T to be satisfied with these small changes, and it wasn't. AT&T decided to file its lawsuit at the beginning of November, asking for a temporary restraining order and an injunction to force Verizon's ads off the air. AT&T argued that Verizon's use of the maps with large swaths of white space on AT&T's side was misleading to customers and implied that they would not be able to make calls or surf the Internet, despite the fact that AT&T's 2.5G network has supported millions of users for years before 3G became popular.

Now, Verizon has shot back with its own filing in the case. "AT&T did not file this lawsuit because Verizon’s 'There’s A Map For That' advertisements are untrue; AT&T sued because Verizon’s ads are true and the truth hurts," reads the introduction. Ouch. Verizon continues on, pointing out that AT&T seems happy to parade around its 3G offerings in its own ads ("Nation's Fastest 3G Network") but is unhappy when completely truthful and accurate—even by AT&T's own admission—coverage maps are used side by side in Verizon's commercials. The company also points out that customers who want smartphones indeed have a strong interest in comparing the 3G coverage, not AT&T's slower 2.5G offerings.

This almost appears to be a pointless battle for AT&T to fight, as it seems Verizon has carefully covered its bum in all the right places. The captions under the maps clearly state that they're for 3G coverage—is it Verizon's fault that most customers have no idea what that means?—and the small print, while discreet, is there. The way AT&T might be able to succeed from here on out is to prove that Verizon's ads are misleading customers in the way AT&T believes they are, but that would likely have to involve studies and user surveys that will require time and money. As Verizon points out in its response, AT&T hasn't exactly shown that there's an emergency that would require the ads to come down immediately, so it seems that these ads will remain on TV for the foreseeable future.